Counterfeit goods seller sentenced

A man who sold counterfeit designer products from a shop in Manchester has been sentenced.

Saeed Iqbal, 66, of Sandringham Road, Stockport, sold fake clothes, perfume, bags and electronics from the premises on Jury Street in Cheetham Hill.

Officers from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police seized over 19,000 counterfeit items during a search warrant at the shop in 2021.

Iqbal pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court on 7 November 2024 to two counts of the unauthorised use of a trademark, following an investigation by PIPCU. He was sentenced at the same court on 7 January 2025 to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and must also pay £1,000 in costs.

Police Staff Investigator Adam Watkins, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police, said:

“Counterfeiting funds other criminal activity such as drugs supply, human trafficking and money laundering.

“Counterfeit sellers care little about the safety of their customers in the face of a quick profit. Fake perfume and electronics like those sold by Iqbal are often untested and unregulated, which puts users at risk.

“It’s vital to remember that you don’t know what other crimes you could be enabling when buying counterfeit items, or what conditions they have been made in.”

Officers from PIPCU carried out a search warrant at the shop on 26 April 2021 and seized a total of 19,048 counterfeit items, which were stocked across two floors, as well as £2,500 in cash.

Fake perfume and watches were being sold for £15 each. Two additional rooms in the premises were used to store boxes of counterfeit stock.

Iqbal, who was in the shop when the warrant was executed, was arrested and his mobile phone was seized. An examination of the phone found that it contained several messages related to the sale of branded products.

Laboratory tests of counterfeit perfume previously seized by PIPCU have shown that it can contain poisonous chemicals, including cyanide, and human urine, which can cause skin irritation, swelling, rashes and burns. Counterfeit electronics can break quickly or cause electrical faults, posing a fire risk.

The cash seized from the shop will be forfeited.